New Mexico safety regulators have imposed the maximum fine on a movie production company that failed to maintain firearms safety on set of Rust. This was where Alec Baldwin killed Alec Baldwin in October 2021.

New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau ordered Rust Movie Productions to pay $139,793. They also distributed a scathing narrative about safety violations in violation industry protocol. This included testimony from production managers that they took little or no action to correct two misfires at the set before the fatal shooting. Also, the bureau documented crew safety concerns about guns that were ignored and stated that weapons specialists weren’t allowed to take decisions regarding additional safety training.

According to Bob Genoway (bishop chief for occupational safety), “What we found was a set if obvious hazards to employees concerning the use firearms and management’s inability to address those obvious hazards.”

Baldwin pointed a gun at Halyna Hutchins, cinematographer, in a Santa Fe ranch, on October 21, 2021. The incident occurred during set-up for filming a scene. It went off killing Hutchins, and injuring Joel Souza, the director.

Baldwin claimed in December that he was shooting at Hutchins, at her instructions on the New Mexico Western Film set. It went off without him pulling the trigger.

A new occupational safety document confirms that Baldwin was presented with a large caliber revolver by David Halls, an assistant director. This was without consulting on-set weapon specialists before or after loading. The safety coordinator was also Halls, which is noted by regulators. He witnessed the accidental firing of two rifles while on-set and did not take any corrective, investigative or disciplinary actions. Crew members were surprised and uncomfortable.

According to the report, “The Safety Coordinator attended on-set but took no action to address safety concerns.” The report states that management was offered multiple chances to make corrective steps but decided not to. The failures left director Joel Souza and Halyna Hutchins with severe injuries. Halyna Houtchins died from her injuries.

Rust Movie productions’ spokesperson did not respond immediately to an email asking for comment. Baldwin’s attorney was unavailable immediately.

James Kenney is the secretary for the Environment Department which supervises occupational safety. He said that 1,500 employees were dedicated to the investigation and reviewed hundreds of documents. There was also at least one interview with crew members.

Investigative teams discovered that producers placed strict restrictions on the number of weapons control staff on sets. They also failed to address concern about shotguns left behind twice.

Hannah Gutierrez Reed was an armorer. She was the daughter of a sharpshooter, and a consultant to film productions. Her time as an armorer was only eight days. However, she was given lighter tasks as a props assistant. Gutierrez Reed warned her manager when she ran out of time to be an armorer and was denied.

Safety inspectors note also that no process was developed by the production company to prevent live ammunition from being brought onto set. This is in direct violation of safety protocol. Safety meetings were organized, however, weapons weren’t used every day as needed.

Kenney indicated that the investigations on possible criminal charges remain in progress.

He claimed that his agency did not receive any safety concerns from the cast and crew before the shooting. Anonymity is allowed.

He said, “This tragedy and this loss of lives, it could be prevented. We want people to speak up.”

Democratic Gov. Kenney appointed Kenney in 2019. Michelle Lujan Grisham was a strong advocate for the movie industry and increased a cap on incentives to film companies shortly after she took office.

New Mexico has a competitive advantage over non-Hollywood production venues in New York, Louisiana, Georgia and other states. Recent years have seen film productions flock to New Mexico because of the diverse landscape, low costs, and generous state incentives. The rebate for in-state expenditures on video production helps both small and big filmmakers to underwrite their projects.